America's Elite Excerting Their Control

So, the lesson here is that once America's Elite decide to steal your money and buy your politicians, you are not suppose to do anything to stand up for yourself.  There is one adage that everyone needs to memorize and remember -

Never, EVER stand in the way of Banks and Corporations and their profits.

Lockheed Martin's CEO Is After Your Social Security Check!

The members of the congressional deficit committee represent more than 16 million people who rely on Social Security and Medicare. But war profiteers who donate millions to these politicians want them to slash Social Security and Medicare to protect their profits.





Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
And the best of President Eisenhower's quotes, one that should still be heeded today -

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bill Maher's Thoughts on Teabaggers

The Spin & Lies of the GOP

Below is the video of Rep John Flemming crying and whining abouyt why the middle-class, seniors, and poor should be thrilled about paying more taxes so that he doesn't have to. This man disgusts me thoroughly. He states he has numerous sandwich shops, yet I will bet that he wouldn't know how to run any of them nor make any products he sells. He has to rely completely on his employees to work much harder then hom so that he can acquire the $6 million dollars. It would be interesting to kow if any of his sandwich shops have been cited for any health violations. But if they were, I'm sure that Rep Flemming would put ALL the blame squarely on his employees that are expected to run the business with little funding and devote their lives to HIS well being.

Or, more then likely, he probably had those citations "buried".

He is a prime example of of the Modern Day Robber Baron.

Their whole attitude is that they are too good to be associated with the common people and deserve special treatment. They will lie and cajole to justify this attitude of theirs.

The GOP is focused on destroying any and all Labor Laws in America, all for their own benefit (such as Rep Flemming) or for those that have bought and paid for them (such as the Koch Brothers and others).

Walmart

America is Being Threatened From Within

At no time has America's progress been more threatened than it is now from within its own borders.  Single-minded proponents of a dangerous and extremist agenda are working feverishly to roll back every  gain we’ve ever made in this country.

The Tea Partiers now calling the shots in the Republican Party won’t back away from their radical agenda. And they are also exceedingly well funded by corporate backers, thanks to the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.

It is going to take commitment from grassroots Americans like us to insure our progress remains intact and to continue to move America forward.

Their Agenda is Crystal Clear

The GOP's extreme agenda is clear: Protect tax breaks for billionaires, dismantle environmental protections and, to top it off, keep people from voting.

This kind of agenda isn't going to get them many votes, so they're relying on Karl Rove and his crew to funnel millions of dollars to campaigns nationwide.
They have five statehouses to protect, while we're defending nine, which makes our job that much tougher. Not only that, but Republicans are working double time trying to rig election laws in their favor.

The GOP's radical plan might be clear to many of us, but it's not clear to the entire American public. We need to inform people about what the extreme Tea Party fringe is up to. And we need to let them know that Democratic governors are making economic recovery, job creation and protecting the middle class their top priorities.

Why Hasn't This Gotten More Coverage?

There Is A Special Place In Hell For These People

They call themselves Christians! What joke. I've always said that there is a very special place in Hell for the Teabaggers...and I wish them a very safe and swift trip there. The sooner the better for humanity.



And during the debate on 09/07, they cheered and applauded the 234 executions in Texas.

Maybe they should have hired strippers

Video showing the overwhelming and excited crowd at a recent Tea Party Rally in New Hampshire that Palin attended.

Robert Reich Explains the US Economy - In Under 2 Minutes

This is so simple that even a Teabagger can understand it.

A Message for Eric Cantor

I Respect Senator Sanders Very Much

Koch Brothers Trying To Return To The Past

Meet The New American Sweatshop

Right-Wing Koch Brothers Caught Telling Thousands of Employees How to Vote

"State's Rights" Is No longer An Issue

I have seen a few comments and postings from the Conservatives and Teabaggers that one of their issues are "State's Rights". That individual states have the right to over-ride the federal government.


Hellloooo. Conservatives and Teabaggers, come back into the 21st Century. It's no longer the 1850's. That question was settled long ago back in 1865. Remember the Civil War? That started over "State's Rights". The whole issue was that there was a belief that each state had the right to nullify any laws or regulations created at the federal level. Essentially, picking and choosing what would be the law of the land. The biggest proponent of this political concept was John Calhoun. But the issue of "State's Rights" was settled back in 1865 at the end of the Civil War when the Southern States lost. Calhoun was the inspiration of the Sessionists of 1860 and contantly spoke of it, just like Rick Perry has.

So, it seems that the Conservatives and Teabaggers want to take us back to the pre-1860's and relive the Civil War. Bringing up the "State's Rights" is such a non-issue that for anyone to bring it up, such as Rick Perry and Ron Paul, shows how weak their other points really are. That they have to fall back on this resolved political issue.

Lastly, I would be extremely careful in beating this "State's Rights" drum too much. "State's Rights" has always been used by those who were defending slavery in America and opposing desegregation & civil rights laws. And the final reason that "State's Rights" is a non-issue? Because the 10th Amenedment to the Constitution (part of the original Bill of Rights) protects states' prerogatives. The Teabaggers, who are so fond of The US Constitution must know this. After all, aren't they smarter then the rest of us?

Koch Brothers Buy Politicians

Do the Koch Brothers Really Care About You?

Short answer? No.


I always thought that the Koch Brothers, Charles and David, were only trying to destroy any social programs that are currently inplace in the US. This presumption is probably true, but there is a more devious and alterior motive for their views. They are very heavy financiers to ultra-conservative groups and causes such as Americans For Propserity. Intersting to note that the only thing that Americans For Prosperity are for is the prosperity of the Koch Brothers.

After reading Peter Finocchiaro's article in Salon.com called "Our Patriotic Billionaire Challenge!", I decided  to do a small bit of research about them. What really got me interested in finding out more about the Koch Brothers and Koch Industries was their answer to the Patriotic Billionaire Challenge.

As a quick recap the issue, Warren Buffitt wrote an op-ed in the NY Times where he stated his feelings that America's Super-rich are in a much better position to help with the economic recovery and that he and the other Super-rich should be taxed more fairly. Buffett wrote:

"I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. [...] Most wouldn't mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering."

Salon.com then decided to contact the Top 19 wealthiest Americans, from the Forbes 400 list, and ask them if they would support paying higher federal income taxes. They heard back from 8 of the 19 and only George Soros said that he'd pay more and 6 of the 8 replied with "No comment". But what interested me the most was the answer that Salon.com received back from Charles Koch. Besides saying No (not a big surprise there), he stated

"Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending."

Hmm, really? How? He goes on to say

"I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington."

Wow!! What an altruistic guy. Maybe I'm reading them wrong. Maybe they are working for the benfit of society and the greater good. Unfortunately, there is no details as to what government spending they are opposed to. I don't want to assume that they are against all social programs, because maybe they aren't.

So, I did a bit of research and found some very interesting information. I found that the best source was Wikipedia because you can verify the information by the numerous ciations that are referenced. If I look up information there about something and notice that the citations referenced are extemely limited or not really verifiable, then I treat that information as suspect. But be that as it may, here is some striking information I located:

1. Koch Industries was fined $35 million for 300 alleged pipeline spills across six states from 1990 to 1997, adding up to 3 million gallons of oil. The US Government had originally proposed fining Koch $71 million to $214 million in penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act by those spills.[Oil pipeline operator to pay fee. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. January 14, 2000.]
2. Koch's Sterling butane pipeline had a leak in Lively, Texas, on August 24, 1996. Two teenagers on the way to report the leak drove into the unseen butane cloud, and were killed when the gas exploded and burned. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that severe external pipeline corrosion was the cause of the failure, and recommended to Koch to improve corrosion evaluation procedures. Although Koch distributed pamphlets about safety around the pipelines, they failed to maintain an up-to-date mailing list. Only 5 out of 45 residences in the area of the accident had received pamphlets. The families of the dead had not.["Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business". Statesman.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23]
3. In March 1999, Koch Petroleum Group, a Koch Industries subsidiary, pled guilty to charges that it had negligently dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of aviation fuel into wetlands near the Mississippi River from its refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, and that it had also illegally dumped a million gallons of high-ammonia wastewater onto the ground and into the Mississippi River. Koch Petroleum paid the Dakota County Park System a $6 million fine and $2 million in remediation costs, and was ordered to serve three years of probation.[Environmental Protection Agency (9 March 2000). "Koch Petroleum Group Sentenced for Minnesota Pollution". Press release. Retrieved 2010-06-14]
4. In 1999, a federal jury found that Koch Industries had stolen oil from government and American Indian lands, had lied about its purchases more than 24,000 times, and was fined $553,504.[CBS News, Blood and Oil, Nov 27 2000]
5. In January 2000, a Koch Industries subsidiary, Koch Pipeline, agreed to a $35 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and the State of Texas. This settlement, including a $30 million civil fine, was incurred for the firm's three hundred oil spills in Texas and five other states going back to 1990.[33][34][35] The spills resulted in more than three million gallons of crude oil leaking into ponds, lakes, streams and coastal waters.[Environmental Protection Agency (13 January 2000). "Koch Industries to Pay Record Fine for Oil Spills in Six States". Press release. Retrieved 2010-06-14]
6. In 2001, the company reached two settlements with the government. In April, the company reached a $20 million settlement in exchange for admitting to covering up environmental violations at its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.["Koch Pleads Guilty to Covering up Environmental Violations at Texas Oil Refinery". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. 9 April 2001. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2001/April/153enrd.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2010.][Don Richards (22 January 2001). "DOJ Reduces Indictments Against Koch Industries". ICIS. http://www.icis.com/Articles/2001/01/22/130888/doj-reduces-indictments-against-koch-industries.html.] That May, Koch Industries paid $25 million to the federal government to settle a federal lawsuit that found the company had improperly taken more oil than it had paid for from federal and Indian land.[CBS (27 November 2000). "Blood and Oil". 60 Minutes. ][Russell Ray (20 June 2001). "Tribe Likely to Get Piece of Settlement in Osage County, Okla., Oil Squabble". Tulsa World.]
7. In June 2003, the US Commerce Department fined Koch Industries subsidiary Flint Hill Resources a $200,000 civil penalty. The fine settled charges that the company exported crude petroleum from the US to Canada without proper US government authorization. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said from July 1997 to March 1999, Koch Petroleum (later called Flint Hill Resources) committed 40 violations of Export Administration Regulations.[US Dept of Commerce, Commerce Dept Fines Kansas Firm, June 3, 2003 press release, http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2003/kansasfirmfined.htm]]
8. In 2006, Koch Industries’ subsidiary Flint Hill Resources was fined nearly $16,000 by the EPA for 10 separate violations of the Clean Air Act at its Alaska oil refinery facilities, and required to spend another $60,000 on safety equipment needed to help prevent future violations.[EPA Press Release, EPA Fines Flint Hill Resources Alaska, Dec 13 2006, accessed Aug 25 2010, http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b0789fb70f8ff03285257029006e3880/6b191200b3ce87e2852572430062f987!OpenDocument]]
9. In 2007, Koch Nitrogen's plant in Enid, Oklahoma, was listed as the third highest company releasing toxic chemicals in Oklahoma, according to the EPA, ranking behind Perma-Fix Environmental Services in Tulsa and Weyerhaeuser Co. in Valliant.[43] The facility produces about 10% of the US national production of anhydrous ammonia, as well as urea and UAN.[Dan Voorhis (2010-12-16). "Fertilizer Helps Koch Grow". Wichita Eagle.]
10. In 2010, Koch Industries was ranked 10th on the list of top US corporate air polluters, the “Toxic 100 Air Polluters,” by the Political Economic Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[Toxic 100 Air Polluters Press reelase, March 31, 2010, http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_press/]

This is very interesting.  Seems that the spending that the Koch Brothers are referring to is the spending the government does on environmental protection.  But I did read where Koch Industries did receive some awards, one of which Flint Hills Resources (Koch Indsutry owned) refinery was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Awards program for reducing air emissions by 50 percent while expanding operations. They've been fined numerous times for environmental violations, yet received an award.  Draw your own conclusions.

Koch funds and supports libertarian and free-market policy and advocacy organizations such as the Cato Institute and Americans For Prosperity (the Koch Brothers prosperity) and David Koch was a Vice-Presidential candidate running on the Libertarian Party in 1980. Looking at the way they may perceive the government keeps getting them for numerous violations listed above, I can understand why they are Libertarians. They want to do anything and everything for the sale of their profits without regard for others or the environment. After all, if the area they live in becomes uninhabitable (remember Love Canal), they have enough wealth to move anywhere else.


I also don't believe that they are great believers of social issues. Yes, we have read where they have donated millions to hospitals and research institutes. But then, they didn't donate the funds in order for the average American to get use of it. They probably did it so that it would be available for themselves. If they are the major donar to a faciltity or institution then they have priority in being served. Regardless if anyone else's need is greater or not. Making donations to research faciltites also gives them the leverage to dictate what research is pursued. Of course, they'd prefer research where THEY can make a profit and preferably without any kind of oversight, regulation, or control. Wanting less government involvement would probably include the FDA and other government regulators.

What I haven't been able to find is any kind of social program that either of them support or contribute to. But then, why should they? They have to completely destroy any government sponsored programs and organized labor. Why? Because the Koch Brothers then can't step in and fill the void with their version of social programs (can you say Feudal System). I can pretty much draw a conclusion that the Koch Brothers would prefer to go back to the days prior to organized labor when there were company towns, company stores, company everything. This would allow them to control the people for their sole purpose of increasing the Koch Brother's wealth. Emasciate the governement and there will be no one with the power to stop them.

The best thing that ever happened to the Koch Brothers was that Barack Obama was elected President. This so enraged some of the population that certain elements in the Republican Party were able to encourage the formation of the Tea Party. This in turn gave the Koch Brothers an inroad into the Republican Party. They are able to transition from a fringe party, The Libertarian Party, to one of the main stream ones, The Republican Party. They now have an opportunity to manipulate a major political party to reformat the American society into something they can make serve them better. Follow the news and see which states are trying to dismantle the major social gains from the last century - unioin, child labor laws, fair labor laws and you will more then likely find a major company in that state that is owned by the Koch Brothers and controlled by the Republican Party.

According to Forbes, the Koch brothers have seen their wealth rise $11 billion in recent years, making the Koch brother among the richest in the country by being worth around $22.5 billion each. Much of those profits, however, are due to soaring gas prices and the fact Koch Industries has avoided compensating the public for hundred million tons of carbon pollution the company produces each year. Other Koch companies also receive significant taxpayer subsidies, despite Koch’s supposed opposition to government spending. This company is among the country’s top sources of carcinogenic chemicals and air pollutants.

In conclusion, the Koch Brothers only support things that benefit the Koch Brothers and not the greater good. The only thing that the Koch Brothers are opposed to govenment give-aways is when the give-aways aren't to THEM.  They spend millions of dollars to make you believe that their interests are your interests. That their wealth is for your benefit.

Where was the Tea Party?

I have had many an e-mails, comment, and other type of messages sent to me accussing me of using the "race card" when referring to the Tea Party. Many from avid Tea Party members & supports. OK, so I don't have to keep repeating the same thing over and over again, let me start out my answer with the following:

When you lay with pigs you get muddy. What this means that even if you don't beleive that you are a racist, the fact that you associate yourself with one and you support it pretty much can cause people to believe that you are.

Ah, now we come the key question...how do I know that the Tea Party is racist. Because I am a student of history and remember a couple of decades back when the old KKK was around. I remember news footage of their speeches and their statements. They wrapped themselves with the American flag, called themselves partiotic, called into question the patrotism of those that criticized it, and were obsessively religious. So much so, that they use to burn a cross as a form of celebration and devotion. That seems like a pretty solid connection to me.

Not enough? OK, try this on for size. Let's look at the George W Bush administration. During Bush's term he started 2 wars whose cost he didn't even put on the books, thus not allowing the American people (and especially the Tea Party crowd) the opportunity to weigh in on, if they wanted to incur the costs of the wars, and thereby passing the costs onto their grandchildren. You remember the Tea Party supporter's grandchildren. Those that the Obama administration will bury in debt but the Bush spending wouldn't. Did we hear from the Tea Party crowd? We heard some isolated voices that were quickly shouted down or silenced with cries of "UNAMERICANS!!", "UNPATRIOTIC!!". But where were the Tea Partiers. Nowhere to be found? Why?

It was during the Bush Adminstration that the full financial system was on the verge of collapse. This is contrary to what many of the supporters of the Tea Party are now saying. These people are repeating constantly that the finaicial crisis came into existence during Obama's administration and that Bush inherited an bad economy and that he turned around (when in fact Bush's administration inherited a budget surplus). Why do they say this? Because Bush was white and he was wealthy.

Where were the Tea Parties when Sec of the Treasury Hank Paulson, who was appointed by George W Bush, came to the American people with a bailout plan that inlcuded trillion of dollars in handouts to the financial industry all written out on a few pages, with no details or oversight. I remember that Paulson wanted the American taxpayers to just hand him the money with no questions asked. Otherwise we were going to go through a financial Armegeddon. Where was the Tea Party Supprters then? Nowhere. It was the Democrats that stood up and said that IF there was a real crisis and IF the financial industry needed to be bailed out that there would have to be guidelines and oversight. No one knew what the end result would have been without it. We now see, with the global debt situation and the markets' activity that the fraud that Wall Street was a party to and the Bush Administration tried to cover up has had more drastic and far-reaching impact then anyone thought.

So, now we move forward to the presidential elections of 2008. Barack Obama wins the presidency. A black man. The FIRST black man to occupy the White House as something other then a servant. It WAS historic. Other countries viewed us again as an enlightened society, no longer the country rubes of the Bush Administration. However, almost immediately there sprang into existence a loose confederation of groupos calling themselves The Tea Party. Complete with the tea bags hanging everwhere. Is it coincidence that as soon as a black man is elected to the highest office in the country, this Tea Party group comes out of nowhere and what do they protect? Did they protect the record bedget deficit that George Bush saddled the country with? Nope. They protected Barack Obama. The man wasn't even in office that long before the signs were up protecting HIM. The man that was willing to negotiate and discuss the continuation and long-term viability of social security and medicare was being accused of destroying it by the Tea Party group INSTEAD OF the Republican Party that had put forth an actual plan to dismanlte it and replace it with a completely inadequate voucher plan. The Tea Party supporters are even going to be pushing for Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan while villifying The President for the destruction of it. Let's see...Paul Ryan is WHITE and The President is BLACK.

If you don't believe that the Tea Party groups isn't a racist group, then explain to me where they were when the deficit was being impacted as depicted below. Where were they during the Bush Administration. Where were they when George Bush and Dick Cheney were shredding the US Constitution, that the Tea Party supporters hold so dearly and wrap themselves in, when the Bush Administration lied and manipulated in order to send troops on an unwarranted war. Why weren't the Tea Party supporters screaming for the impeachment of Bush & Cheney when they violated, ignored, and essentially broke their oath to uphold and protect the US Constitution? Why weren't they as vocal and inflamed then? Because there was no black man occupying the highest elected office in the country, that's why.

If you're not a racist and don't wish to be labelled as one, then disassociate yourself from the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party. Allow the Republican Party to go back to being a decent group that cared about ALL Americans, albeit from a different perspective then the Democratic Party. Work within the Republican Party to throw off the shackles of corporate enslavement. You do this, THEN you'll be thought of as a decent person again.